1) Tyres.
3 things a driver should know about tyres. Namely they are:
a) Pressure
b) Alignment
c) Balancing
A good, safe tyre should ideally have 60% thread. Do not inflate tyre to more the 50 psi (pound per square inch).
Most drivers are unaware. In most cars, except Kancils, there is a table regarding tyre pressure on the inside portion of the driver’s door. Check it out for yourself.
Who is the first person that invented the pneumatic tyre? Goodyear or Dunlop? Actually, the answer is J.P. Dunlop.
2) Brake Fluid.
They are blue, crimson (red) or sometimes green in colour. Can they be intermixed? The answer is yes.
Brake fluid are either named Dot 3 or Dot 4. What does D.O.T. represent?
In case you don’t know, D.O.T. means “Department of Transport”. D.O.T. 3 is for ordinary cars, especially suited for hot tropical climates like Malaysia and other South East Asian countries.
What then D.O.T. 4 for? It is for “high performance” vehicles like Ferrari, Porche and racing cars. It’s especially suitable for use in cold countries.
Can it be used in hot, tropical countries?
The answer is no!
It is not advisable. As mentioned above, in tropical countries, use the D.O.T. 3.
3) Engine oil.
Engine oil or lubricating oil are numbered SAE 10 – 50. My reference informs me S.A.E. means “Society of Automotive Engineers”.
Lower numbered oil has lower viscosity. Newer cars, are recommended to use lower viscosity oils.
Vehicles consuming engine oil ideally should use higher viscosity oil. 40 SAE to 50 SAE would be the best.
4) Transmission oil (gear box).
The transmission or gear box oil is an important item of the vehicle. Lack of it will obviously wreck the car.
Mechanic friends advise, the ideal transmission oil for front transmission is 90 S.A.E. Rear transmission boxes require higher numbered oil, such as S.A.E. 130 or 140. The higher the number, the higher its viscosity.
5) Battery water.
Battery normally use distilled water. Some people assume that mineral water is suitable for batteries. You are incorrect.
Mineral water maybe clear and clean, but believe me, it is not the most suitable for our batteries.
Why you may ask?
Because mineral water, coming from the earth’s crust, actually contains dissolved mineral which is not quite suitable for batteries.
You could however opt for rain water. But rain water, remember, contains oxides which incidentally isn’t too good for batteries either.
The final interesting item of the car that should deem explanation would definitely be the coil and the car battery itself.
6) Coil and battery.
The car battery itself is only 12 volt capacity. An engineer will tell you it’s not strong enough to “start” a car. A 12 volt battery, an engineer told me once, needs the assistance of a coil.
The battery on its own, cannot perform the function of igniting a car’s engine. It is the coil which steps up power of the battery, from 12 volts to say 24,000 volts.
Each high tension cable (there are 4 of them) carries 6000 volts current from the distributor to the spark plugs to eventually “kick start” the car engine.
Interesting, isn’t it?
Automotive engineers, please correct me if I’m wrong. After all, I’m but an ordinary driving instructor only.
These are but a few important items for a car. We might continue with the likes of such articles at a later stage and time.
Related web pages:
1) 3 Small And Yet Important Items of a Car
2) Car Radiator – Understanding The Function of Car Radiator Made Easy
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